Vellutino, F., & Schatschneider, C. (2004). Experimental and quasi-experimental design in literacy research. In (chapter 7) N. Duke, & M. Mallette, editors. Literacy Research Methodologies. New York: Guilfords.
(aka Duke Ch. 7)
These authors did an outstanding job of summarizing and contextualizing the issues and parameters surrounding experimental and quasi-experimental design. I agree with Melissa that this chapter should be required reading in Stats. I think the difference here is in perspective. These writers place statistical concepts and procedures firmly within the context of literacy research. In Stats texts, I think the presentation of the material concentrates on the details without the context - and that's probably reasonable since we are learning concepts and procedures that are common to many disciplines and our classmates are not all interested in literacy research. However, that is a good argument for a quantitative statistical measurement class taught specifically for literacy researchers within the Reading program.
Vellutino & Schatschneider propose evaluation of experiments and quasi-experiments based on the adequacy of the hypothetical counterfactual and how well the design addresses concerns about internal validity, external validity, statistical conclusion validity, and construct validity. They give examples of how one might evaluate research using their own studies as exemplars. They make it clear that all studies have weaknesses and flaws and that understanding the flaws is important to understanding how to connect and apply research beyond the contexts of the original studies.
I think that this chapter (and its references) will be useful for evaluating existing research and designing new studies.
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